Melbourne Catholic abuse compo to double

Compensation payments to people sexually abused as children by Catholic clergy in the Melbourne archdiocese are expected to surpass $31 million after the church doubled the maximum available payout.

The compensation cap under the church's Melbourne Response scheme will rise from $75,000 to $150,000, putting it in line with the maximum payment under the federal government's planned commonwealth redress scheme.

Past payments to abuse survivors under the much-criticised Melbourne Response, set up in 1996 by then Melbourne archbishop Cardinal George Pell, will be topped up if the victim would have received a higher offer had the new system been in force when their compensation was determined.

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said the $15 million the archdiocese had paid in compensation under the scheme was expected to rise to $31.7 million under the new system, which brings in changes recommended in a review by retired Federal Court judge Donnell Ryan QC.

Archbishop Hart said the Melbourne archdiocese wanted to align any change in compensation with government schemes to ensure survivors had equal access and treatment.

"We've been talking to government for quite some time and now that the commonwealth government's come out with the same figure, we believe that's fairer to everyone in the community to have the same basic scheme and the same cap," he told AAP.

The caps under the commonwealth redress scheme operating from 2018 and the Melbourne Response from January 2017 fall short of the $200,000 maximum payment recommended by the child sex abuse royal commission for a national redress system.

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However, Archbishop Hart said the average payment under the new Melbourne Response was expected to be about $89,000, compared to the $65,000 average figure envisaged by the royal commission.

"The average person will perhaps do better than what might have been recommended by the royal commission. That's a win for them and it means that we are genuinely interested in trying to help in the best way possible."

While welcoming the doubling of the cap, clergy abuse victims advocate Helen Last said the compensation was only part of the picture.

"Yes they will get more money but money is not the answer," the In Good Faith Foundation chief executive said.

"It's the professional assistance that they need to rebuild their lives, to have some sort of security in their life and to get over what was done to them and reconnect with society and with wellbeing."

Critics say the Melbourne Response has re-traumatised victims and the royal commission agrees the scheme is overly legalistic.

Archbishop Hart said the church's first priority was to try to care for the victims.

"We may be criticised but our intentions are sincere, and we can always do better," he said.

More than 450 people have made child sex abuse claims against priests and others in the Melbourne archdiocese and an average of $52,000 has been paid to those who received monetary compensation, taking into account treatment and legal costs.